Tophams 14 games you should own

[topham]

This is my list. A list of games that I've enjoyed hundreds of hours playing. And games that I'd thoroughly recommend anyone to give a try. Like most things in my life, I avoid anything to do with it until I start playing, so I don't read reviews and have no expectations of games which leads most of my gaming experiences to be positive. Also, I've owned a PS1 and PS2, as well as xbox 360, so don't complain if theres not much diversity in the consoles. Also, my writing ability, in my opinion, is very poor, so I might repeat a point or completely omit something that I found good or bad about the games, or not explain well something to do with the games.

 

Honourable Mentions: Burnout 3/Revenge, Kingdom Hearts, Dynasty Warriors 3, Lylat Wars.

 

 

14. Wet (Xbox 360)

 

The lowest game on my list is maybe the most recent game I'll mention.

Wet, a game that I find completely enjoyable, as long as I don't try to play seriously and I want to have fun. I was on my third replay before I left my xbox, and wasn't getting tired of finding new acrobatic ways to kill the bad guys. The story is simplistic, but entertaining, and the graphics aren't great for a modern game on a modern system, but the game is fun, and that's what I was looking for when I got it.

 

 

13. Tekken 3 (PS1)

 

The original PS1, my first console, and one of my first games. I have fond memories of this game, which, as far as I can remember was the first game I completed fully. What made this stand out to me was the Tekken Force Mode, a side scrolling, near 3d experience, although dificult to control at points, was thoroughly enjoyable and offered a real challenge at points. Also, the amount of characters to unlock, and my hunger for completion really pushed me to see this game through. This game is probably my earliest gaming memories.

 

 

12. Gran Turismo 3 (PS2)

 

I'll be honest that I never played GT4, and as such, can't compare its quality. But this game had so much to do, I never got all the cars, or finished all the races, but always adored the amount that I still had to do. After returning to this game I found a new love for it, not because I wanted to drive fast, but after I'd learnt to drive actually driving like you'd expect to drive properly, which was refreshing and drastically lowered my laptimes, thoroughly destroying the competition in most of the races. Although I never completed this game, I still feel I achieved enough in it to not feel the need to return unless I really want to play it. Its graphics were smooth, especially for a launch title for the PS2.

 

 

11. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)

 

This game had an incredible campaign and the online multiplayer was my first experience with online gaming, aside from Runescape. Now I'm not the best person at first person shooters, however I do adore playing them, see my number 1 game, but this game felt incredible to play. The story was gripping, and the combat felt dangerous. I'll admit I never completed the game on veteran, but did complete it on hardened, which in my opinion is good enough. I got rather close to the end on veteran, actually, I was on 'No Fighting in the War Room', but kept got stuck at moving forwards during the section where the path splits into 3 briefly. Stuck infuriatingly close to the end is annoying to say the least, however, the campaign was very well put together, and I had a lot of fun times online playing with my mates in one of the best online games released.

 

 

10. Zone of the Enders (PS2)

 

A tremendous game, with incredible game play, combined with a compelling story (if a bit short in my opinion) with some incredible graphics for the PS2. This game was about a child who pilots a large robot, initially accidentally, but then proves to be a natural at using this frame. As you're using a flying robot combat is from all 3 dimensions, with detection of the enemies being their immediate view, so sneaking up and beating them quick was always an option if you were crafty enough. With continually advancing story, which grew more and more interesting I could not put this game down until I completed it, and while I still had my PS2 I bought it once, traded it in, then a few months later bought it again, as I realised how brilliantly put together this game was. I think this game is one that everyone should play at least once.

 

 

9. Assassins Creed 1 and 2 (360)

 

Yes, the both of them. These game opened my eyes to what is possible now with games, with the large open worlds that can be climbed all over. Now I'll admit that the second one was better in every way, but the first was the first game I took the time to 1000 point and I'm proud and glad that I did. Although finding those last flags was soul destroying, the rest of the game, the combat, the large maps, the ability to go anywhere, and the story was the nearly the best I've experienced on the current console generation. The setting of the second, the colours and liveliness, and additions to the combat, made the second more enjoyable and more fun to play. Also, the fact that water didn't kill in the second one was a marked improvement over the first as it shows the improvement in the engine that they were using for the game.

 

 

8. Dirge Of Cerberus (PS2)

 

The most incredible 3rd person shooter I think has ever existed. Stylish, exciting, and furthering the story from Final Fantasy VII made this one of the most exciting game I played ever. The weapon customisation I really enjoyed, but something I missed the first time I owned the game was the amount of mini-games and things outside of the main story that there are to do. Now the story is wicked, due to it being based on Vincent Valentine from FF7, and with little knowledge of FF7 I still found this game enjoyable, I have since then played FF7, and appreciate this game even more. Now the combat in this game, handles incredibly well for a 3rd person shooter, better than the next game I'll talk about, but it was everything together that made me think this is a game that everyone should play. The story, the characters, the graphics, the style, the customisation of weapons, the amount of stuff to do and the overall experience was phenomenal, and I actually want to re buy a PS2 so that I can further complete this game and more of other games on this list.

 

 

7. Fallout 3 (360)

 

Another relatively new game, but one that grasped my attention for hours. I completed the main story twice, once rushing through, just trying to see what it'd take to finish and completed it in about 20 hours, at a pathetic low level. I tried again from the very beginning, starting with looking for all the side quests, really exploring the whole map, and enjoying my time playing the game. This time, I got to about 60 hours before even stating the main story, which I think is how I should have played this game to begin with. With the ability to upgrade weapons, and the need to raise certain skills to do different things like upgrading weapons, being able to heal more among other things this game really appealed to the completion freak in me, but before completing the main quest I experienced a large problem, that the level cap is actually too low to do everything in the game unless you buy an expansion. Anyway, I'd completed the whole game at about 90 hours, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I liked the idea of the wasteland and the way the game was set up, although the graphics weren't great in my opinion, the game was very enjoyable and a lot of fun was had playing it.

I also found this game terrifying in the Deathclaw Sanctuaty and surrounding areas, mainly because I was listening to Daath, at night, with no lights on, in headphones, which made for a truly spooky experience.

 

 

6. Jade Cocoon (PS1)

 

Jade Cocoon was a strange game, a game that received little to no recognition, and a game many people I know never had even heard of. Needless to say I thought it was a gem, with some graphics that were good for the PS1, and game play that was epic, and a fantastic story that left me wanting more. It focussed around a village that had become under attack and had became cursed. Your character becomes quickly held in high regard by the village as son of a famous master of the cocoon, which is the ability to capture monsters. In the 4 forests that are found at a hub nearby with each needing a key obtained as you advance through the game. The idea is to capture and merge the monsters to become powerful enough to see the end of the curse on your village, at least thats what I can remember of it. Throughout the game there there were different challenges that arose, and different routes along the paths to the forests, leading to different monsters being encountered. The diversity of these monsters and the way the game was put together, the graphics and the cutscenes made this game unforgettable for me, and I implore anyone who has a PS1 kicking around and can find a copy to give it a try.

 

 

5. Final Fantasy X (PS2)

 

220+ hours on one file, still unable to beat Penance, but one of the greatest stories ever told in a video game. If it wasn't for the infuriating memory card problems of the PS1 VII or VIII might be on this list, but no, X, a masterpiece, an eclectic soundtrack, a decent combat system, a gripping story, all with incredible graphics. I think this game is the best FF I've played, and maybe the best one made. I'm still working through 3 and 4, and yeah, where they came from are good, but I think it all came together in X, although the combat system wasn't as good as it could be, the hours I put into this game and the familiarity I have with it when I load it up really give me a good sense of why I love this game. And for what its worth, I think out of all RPGs with turn based/active time battle systems, that X-2 has the best battle system I've ever come across.

 

 

4. SSX3 (PS2)

 

In my opinion this game is the best snowboarding game thats been created. It's not accurate to real life, and its completely over the top, which is the reason I love it. I can't listen to AFI's Sing the Sorrow album without being reminded of it, as most weekends I'd play this game while listening to that album. I really enjoyed the brightness, the flamboyancy and the sense of accomplishment in this game. Also, this was the first game I played online, with the PS2s horrible online services with rubbish internet connection, it was a harrowing and daunting experience, and I'm glad that online gaming has evolved.

What I enjoyed about this game was the tracks, the ability to go nearly wherever, and the whole mountain races. I'll admit that I never got a gold in the total mountain downhill, by about 20 seconds I think, but I'd tried relentlessly to beat this game, and had gold and platinum medals in al the other events. Also, there were a wide variety of characters, the aerial movesets were insane, and the customisation of characters and boards was phenomenal. This made this game one of my favourites of all time.

 

 

3. Metal Gear Solid (PS1)

 

In my mind this is the perfect game. But at number 3? why not number 1? Here is why. While this game is amazing, it's not as fun as the two that are higher.

The Story for this game was wicked, the characters were good, the gameplay was brilliant, and the play time was spot on. The change in areas was insane for such a big game, it never felt like you'd gone too far, but upon looking back at what had gone on both story wise and actual distance it was great. Upon playing it again recently, I realised how easy some sections were, and how tough some bosses were, and how brilliantly the game flowed. Although, that being said, I did get to Psycho Mantis in about 3hours 30 mins, which I swear was more difficult when I was younger.

Overall definitely one of my favourite games of all time, but I don't know many people that never played it.

 

 

2. Crash Bandicoot 3: Warped (PS1)

 

Everything about this game was fun. The music was goofy, the characters were wacky and the levels were crazy. The way the game played was good, and it really had an effect on me. It was this game specifically that got me hooked on gaming properly. Its everything anyone should look for in a fun game, fun and good game play. I still remember all the bosses, and have found the same with other Crash games, that the 4th boss is the hardest, but that they usually give the best reward, the bazooka =). I remember finally getting 100% on this game, only to find out online, when the internet was slooooow, that it went to 104 or 105%. Needless to say, hours of fun went into this game, and it's a game that I believe is one of the best of all time.

 

 

1. Timesplitters 2 (PS2)

 

My ultimate first person shooter, and one of the best created games ever. Maybe the best PS2 game ever made. Great graphics, fun gameplay, chaotic, brilliant, entertaining campaign, fun missions, hundreds of arcade challenges, and incredibly difficult hard mode, and hundreds of unlocks. The game had depth, it has my favourite multiplayer game modes, the arcade challenges were solid, some were near impossible. I feel wrong putting this game at the top of my list for the simple fact that I never completed the game on hard mode, and that I never unlocked everything, as there was so much to do, and some of the challenges were so ridiculously difficult, that I tried so many times but never finished even medalling in all challenges. However, party games, between me and my friends at parties with a multitap were insanely fun, chaotic, and downright crazy. We all loved playing this game. Oh, and who can forget about the zombies, and monkeys!!

In my opinion these top 3 games are all equally deserving of the top spot on my list, but Timesplitters 2 will hold the top spot because of the multiplayer and the chaos that ensues everytime I play it.

 

 

Thanks for reading.

Peace

[Skully]

Who are you?

[topham]

What do you mean by that?

[Shiny]

Respectable list. Was writing mine up as I didn't think anyone was posting, but I'll save it for a week.

[topham]

Thanks =)

[noble_aloof]

warped and dirge of cerberus were sick games. i always meant to get zone of the enders, as once i started really using the internet i found that it was one of the best rated games ever.

[Danqazmlp]

I had been PM'd to do mine this week, but as you have gone through the effort to do this one, I will do mine next week and PM the next person after that. so you do not need to PM a next person.

[Skully]

What so some random guy just came in and interrupted us? -.-

[topham]

I posted on the thread about it earlier in the day, I thought that it'd been interupted due to someone not being able to do their list and there not having been a list for a while, so I went for it.

[Danqazmlp]

What so some random guy just came in and interrupted us? -.-

 

He had been on the list of future volunteers so I see no harm in it.

[Skully]

This is confusing I heard somebody else was this weeks pick? :S

[Atom Smash40]

I HAVE GT3!!!! I ARE WIN!!!!

[Danqazmlp]

Timesplitters 2 really was an incredible game. It was basically an updated version of 007 goldeneye for the N64. It used almost exactly the same controls and style, with the health bars, snap aiming and in both, proximity mines ruled the roost. Both were the multiplayer games for thier respective generations, and I would love if a company made another game off the same system. It is all good having realism in games, but those two just had run and gun multiplayer which was just incredibly fun, especially in splitscreen.

[a_bert]

an interesting list, completely different taste to me but nobody can argue with the timelessness (HRURR) of timesplitters, one of my earliest FPS games which i styled over

 

barrels of fun: but god damn people who picked monkey

[Sam]

A very nice list, some awesome games you have there. Timesplitters is a great game.

[Danqazmlp]

an interesting list, completely different taste to me but nobody can argue with the timelessness (HRURR) of timesplitters, one of my earliest FPS games which i styled over

 

barrels of fun: but god damn people who picked monkey

 

 

Shotgun + mines > monkey.

 

Shrink mode though was something I wish games would replicate today. That and infection with the fire. The game really had multiplayer which was fun, whacky and silly. Three things rarely done in games at the moment.

[a_bert]

absolutely: I have fond memories of playing Virus with friends on splitscreen and screaming when we drew

 

i mean how do you even draw that game mode :3

[Demoli]

Wet? :blink:

 

Well, i guess everyone has a different taste, i personaly hated it.

[armybuilder]

Damn i do love timesplitters2 i do agree with that. 3 wasnt as good sadly and there wont be a forth as the company went bust. But i believe the company who took there idea's over are thinking about it +)